Oversized Clamshell Removable Putter Grip

ABSTRACT

An oversized clamshell putter grip, formed of two roughly equal halves, secured with a hinge, which can easily, and repeatedly be attached and removed from any putter club. This grip extends from the upper end to the lower end of the putter grip which improves the golfer&#39;s ability to both grip the putter as well as index (or “wield”) the putter&#39;s orientation through the putting stroke without having to remove the existing, or factory installed putter&#39;s grip.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to golf putter grips, and more particularly, toputter grips designed to constrain a putter from twisting, spinning,turning or rotating during the putting stroke or to otherwise facilitateor improve the golfer's ability to both grip the putter as well as index(or “wield”) the putter's orientation through the putting stroke.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Arguably, the most important part of any golfer's game is the ability tomake putts accurately and consistently. In most circumstances, the totalnumber of putting strokes typically accounts for one-half or more of agolfer's total strokes during any round of play. As such, golfers andgolf equipment manufacturers have dedicated significant resourcestowards the perfection of activities designed to facilitate the puttingstroke. Producing putters along with other golf aids which improve thegolfer's ability to consistently strike the golf ball on the intendedline, with the intended force is a substantive task. Most putter clubdesigns have tended to focus on the composition or configuration of theputter head. For that reason, the golf industry has focused much oftheir inquiries and development of (i) oversized putter heads, (ii)distinctive, or idiosyncratic shaped putter heads, and (iii) putterheads of varying weight, composition, and size, all designed to improvethe “feel” or orientation of the putter through the putting stroke.

Beyond such, there have been various attempts to facilitate the puttingstroke by means of varying the design, composition, and length of theputter shaft and the putter grip. Grip design, and composition aregenerally focused on restricting potential rotational misgivings duringthe putting stroke as well as to advance the golfer's ability to bothgrip the putter as well maintain the putter's orientation through theputting stroke.

Of note, many golfers, particularly those new to the sport, or thosewith some level of physical impediment, or limiting impairment tend tohave various issues which limit their ability to hit the ball squarelyon the face of the putter. In the off-chance that these golfers manageto produce a stroke which correspondingly aligns the face of the putterwith the ball, there is still the predisposition to lose the intendedputter orientation and line through the putting stroke largely becauseof rotating the club face either in or out during the putting stroke allof which causes the ball to swerve away from its intended line afterimpact with the ball.

Another problem with the introduction of oversized putter grips residesin the application or installation to any existing putter club.Typically, original equipment manufactured grips need to be removed in alabor-intensive process often involving the engagement of third partyequipment potentially rending the club out of commission for severalweeks. Not only is this an expensive, time consuming, process itpermanently alters the grip and the dynamics of the putter to which itis attached. This is somewhat unappealing to many golfers as thepermanency of this installation many limit or detract from continuedputter usage.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of this invention is to provide an oversized,removable, easy to attach, improved putter grip which enhances agolfer's ability to complete a putting stroke while minimizing anyunintended rotation within the grip, thereby enabling the alignment ofthe club face, in so doing, stroking the ball along the intended line oftravel.

In accordance with the primary objective of this invention, utilizationof this grip is non-destructive with respect to the manufacturer'soriginally installed putter grip in the sense that it requires nospecialized tooling or equipment to install or remove which therebyprovides a quick, convenient grip to apply to any of the golfer'sputters if the golfer wants to provide a unified or a common feelamongst all his/her putters.

Further the increased volume of this overly-wide grip enhances thegolfer's putter clasp more than such would be afforded by the somewhatnarrower original equipment manufacturer's installed putter grip,thereby adding an enhanced feel and controllability through the puttingstroke.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, this grip isconstructed of an elongated wide body having a generally cylindricalstructure with a pronounced elongated flat wall section primarily usedto-assist in the indexing of the club head through the putting stroke.Preferably, this flat wall is generally aligned and parallel with thestriking face of the putter to engage the forward hand and wrist of thegolfer while engaged in striking the ball.

For clarity sake, and in accordance with still yet another aspect ofthis invention, a putter is comprised of a head, shaft, and a grip. Thehead has a heel, a toe, and a striking face. The shaft has a lower endattached to the head between the heel and the toe thereof, and has anupper end located above the lower end. The grip typically includes anelongated body, whether as provided by the original equipmentmanufacturer, or as per the tenants of this invention, as oversized andgenerally of a constant diameter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent likeparts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a putter incorporating the oversized,clamshell grip as constructed in accordance with the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation view of the oversized clamshellgrip, in the open position of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom side plan view of the oversized clamshell grip, inthe open position of FIGS. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional side elevation view of the oversized clamshellgrip's construction componentry, in accordance with the embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

1. Resume

Pursuant to the embodiment of the invention, a putter grip is providedwhich has a generally cylindrical body extending from a lower end to anupper end. The body is overly wide compared to conventional puttergrips, and has little or no taper to form a step between the lower endof the grip and the shaft. The step is suitable for receiving a golfer'sindex and middle fingers on opposite sides of the shaft to help ensurethat the golf club will not twist or turn during a putting stroke andthus enhance the ability of the golfer to strike the ball squarelydirecting the ball along the intended line of travel. The cylindricalbody, of the embodiment of this invention, has a portion cut away toproduce an elongated flat surface extending from the lower end of thegrip to the upper end. The flat surface is intended to be configuredwithin the golfer's grip to further stabilize the club during theputting stroke.

2. Construction and Operation of the Embodiment of the Invention

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, a putter 10 is illustrated which isconventional in construction except for incorporating a grip constructedin accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. The putter10 thus includes a head 12, a shaft 14, and a grip 16.

The head 12 may be any commercially available putter head formed fromaluminum, brass, or any other material commonly used in putter heads. Asis conventional, the head includes a front toe 18, a rear heel 20, aflat striking face 22 designed to engage the ball.

The shaft 14 is also conventional and may be formed from a steel tube asillustrated or from graphite or any other material commonly used inshafts. The shaft 14 has an upper end 25 which is covered by the grip16. The shaft 14 is generally cylindrical and, therefore, has alongitudinal axis.

The embodiment of the oversized clamshell grip 16 includes an elongatedtubular molded body 30 having a first wall 32 that is partiallycylindrical in shape and a second wall 34 that is generally flat. Thebody may be molded from a single material such as natural rubber,silicon rubber, plastic, or any other material commonly used in puttergrips. The body 30 has an upper end 36 which is capable of opening orclosing by way of a hinge 38 onto or into the upper end of the shaft 14.

The grip 16 is constructed such that the maximum diameter of the grip isformed by walls 32 and 34, whereby this oversized clamshell gripdecreases flexing of the user's wrists during use.

When the grip 16 is made of a material with relevant low resilienceand/or the shaft 14 has a substantial taper such that the innerperimeter of the grip 16 will not form a tight seal with the outerperimeter of the shaft 14, four cylindrical taper inserts 46, each madeof flexible rubber or other similar polymeric material are used tominimize any potential gap between the grip 16 and the shaft 14. Thisgap is typically insignificant; however, to further lock the grip 16 inplace over the shaft 14, four additional wedges 48 made from rubber, orother such polymeric material are inserted into the flat wall of the 34of the grip 16.

It is contemplated that the user will engage the flat wall 34 with thepalm of his or her forward hand and will engage opposing side 32 withhis or her two fingers of the trailing hand on opposite sides of theshaft. The flat wall 34 therefore is aligned generally parallel with theflat striking space 22. The user's trailing hand then will engage thegrip 16 generally around the partially cylindrical wall 32. Thisoversized clamshell grip 16 is thus designed to be used by both left andright-handed golfers based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 orsimilarly by rotating such 180 degrees around the shaft 14; however,users can essentially apply this grip on any side subject to userpreference while still enhancing the over contact with the ball throughthe putting stroke.

While the grip 16 includes both the cylindrical wall 32 and the flatwall 34, its application to the club 10, and more specifically to theshaft 14 is locked into place by depressing the “press” button 50thereby locking teeth 52 from side 34 into the opposing side 32 of thegrip 16. This process of depressing the “press” button 50 for a secondtime releases the teeth from the grip 16 thereby allowing the user toremove such from the putter. It is this process of pressing button 50 toapply the grip as well as to release the grip from shaft 14 that makesthis oversized clamshell grip both easy to apply, easy to remove andwhich facilitates the golfer's ability to use the putter club asintended by the original equipment manufacturer or as affordedembodiment of this invention. This process as per the prior resolveswhat is often an expensive, time consuming, process of permanentlyaltering a putter grip and the dynamics of the putter to which isattached by the original equipment manufacturer.

What is claimed is:
 1. a grip which is a clamshell grip consisting oftwo equal halves with a hinge joint mechanism (FIG. 38) located at themost proximal end of the grip and having a proximal axis which connectsthe two halves of the grip allowing for quick installation and universaluse for both right and left-handed users, said proximal hinge jointallows for up and down motion in one plane and prevents less userinterference leading to product longevity.
 2. The grip as in claim 1further comprising: at least one rubber insert that is placed in aspecific location throughout the interior within the housing of the gripand said strategically located rubber insert (FIG. 46) allows for agreater adoption rate for installing the grip over fixated putter gripswith the pliability of said rubber insert which limits any shearingmotion with the fixated grip and provides a more secure and tightinstallation.
 3. The grip as in claim 1 further comprising: a pushbutton (FIG. 50) located at the distal portion of the clamshell whichconsists of locking-hook mechanisms with the most distallocking-mechanism consisting of larger and wider hooks (FIG. 51) tosecure the grip properly when attached to the club and said hooks arepurposefully wider and more tough than the proximal hooks, allowingincreased security and longevity while also dampening vibration when thegolf ball is struck with the grip and said proximal locking-hookmechanisms are purposefully thinner and less obtrusive (FIG. 52),allowing for closer contact with the fixated golf grip and thus a moresecure attachment.
 4. The grip as in claim 1 further comprising: apronounced section located at the proximal end of the grip (FIG. 36),that is similar to a bubble, that fully encompasses the hinge joint andsaid bubble allows for frequent use of the grip and has been built toreduce the normal range of motion of the hinge joint, thus increasingthe structural integrity of the opening mechanism and acts to aid in thegrip longevity and intuitiveness.
 5. (canceled)